In response to the Notice of Limited Competition, NOT-MD-02-004, entitled "NCMHD Endowment Program for Increasing Research and Training Capacity in Section 736 Health Professions Schools" the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (Drew) applied to the NCMHD Endowment Program for Increasing Research and Training Capacity in Section 736 Health Professions Schools for obtaining funds to provide personnel and information technologies through the Drew Office of Academic Computing (OAC). This is an innovative way to apply for this endowment funds. The identification of the OAC as a high priority addition to Drew's research and education infrastructure was a direct result of the University strategic planning process. The augmentation of the OAC represents an important step in Drew's commitment to assuming a leadership role in the application of information technology in support of research and education related to improving the health of minority and disadvantaged populations. The proposed support will strengthen and build upon the activities and resources of three highly productive infrastructure components of the University: the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Informatics Research Core, the King/Drew Health Sciences Library, and the Drew Learning Resource Center, including the recently funded National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) Research & Educational Advancement Center for Health Disparities (REACH). REACH provides enhanced institutional infrastructure and programming for faculty development and the student Medical Thesis program, with an emphasis on health disparities research. The OAC will leverage the software, hardware, and personnel resources of each of these components to integrate synergistic planning, development, and implementation of newly evolving information technology applications to maximize institutional research and teaching capabilities. The proposed endowment portfolio will be managed through Drew's collaboration with University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) providing an established foundation of effective and sophisticated portfolio management consistent with the highest level of standards in the nation. The Endowment portfolio will be allocated among a number of asset classes that may include domestic equity, domestic fixed income, international equity, international fixed income, private equity, venture capital and cash to ensure the proper level of diversification and the fiscal solvency necessary for creating a self-sustaining program.